The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook

by David Rosengarten, Joel Dean, Giorgio Deluca

Salad Nicoise with Seared Fresh Tuna. Pad Thai. Tuscan Bread Soup. Quesadillas. Couscous with Lamb. Authentic Italian Risotto. Good old American Shrimp Gumbo. These are dishes that Americans have learned to love over the last twenty years, a time of extraordinary culinary expansion. And Dean & Deluca, the great innovative food store in New York's SoHo district, was there.

Now, together with a team from Dean & Deluca, renowned food writer and TV chef David Rosengarten has compiled an encyclopedic collection of recipes for these new classics, presented for home cooks in the clearest, simplest, and liveliest possible way. Drawing upon his vast culinary wisdom, Rosengarten explains everything from how to make the best green salad or a perfect pizza to how to choose your Chinese noodles, know your Indian spices, and serve your bouillabaisse. Here are two Thai methods for fluffy rice and seven steps to great French fries (and fifteen other potato recipes, from baked and mashed to Gaufrettes and Gratin Dauphinoise). Rosengarten's epic compendium is spiced with delightful information--from the etymology of "squash" to the history of bisques, from cassoulet controversies and gazpacho wars to trends in miniature corn.

You'll find here definitive recipes for such traditional European classics as Cassoulet, Paella, and Pesto Genovese, alongside "new" favorites such as Frisée aux Lardons and Panzanella. Here too are Middle Eastern classics--Tabouli, Persian Rice Pilaf, and Lahmajun (Turkish pizza); Asian classics--Tom Yung Kung, Chicken Tandoori, and Tempura; and classics from the New World--from crab cakes to Posole Verde. You will also find old comfort foods, from clam chowder to meat loaf, as well as the latest innovations from our country's most innovative chefs. Along the way you'll learn how to feel for fresh fish, how to recognize wild mushrooms, and how to approach a chicken.

If you learned to love it in the last twenty years, it's here--and now you can cook it brilliantly at home. Thanks to Rosengarten's enthusiasm, knowledge, and wit, The Dean & Deluca Cookbook is a delectable, delightful, friendly, and comprehensive guide to the new joy of cooking.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

576 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 1996

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only have a few cookbooks in my kitchen and this is one of them. I find it an invaluable supplement to Joy of Cooking—it just steps things up that extra notch... Fantastic lamb stew with wine that is baked for three hours until the meat just melts in your mouth... I am not afraid to make substitutions to any of the recipes either, if I can't find or don't have on hand some of the ingredients. On the other hand, sometimes I enjoy that come-hell-or-high-water search from grocery store to deli to farmer's market... Then of course they almost always stock the things for their recipes in their own stores [http://www.deandeluca.com/Aboutus/Def...]. So far nothing about this cookbook has disappointed me, except maybe the fact that the binding is coming undone from too much use.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a lifestyle book than a true cookbook - introductory paragraphs in each section are dated and pretentious, many of the recipes require a “special” ingredient making this cookbook impractical if you live in a rural area.

[Aaronichi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a good cook book. Sure it's chock full of recipes, but for the most part they are impractical and lack any real instruction. The 2nd star is for how good it looks good on the bookshelf.

[Kate Price]

Miss Dean & Deluca so much.

[KidPolaroid · Rating 3 out of 5]

the recipes in this book sound absolutely amazing. I think I attemped to make only one thing in this book and it was good although I can't remember what it was. The problem is that they all require many fancy ingredients which I do not have in my humble kitchen and feel too frugle at times to go out and get the 87 spices needed for one recipe. Someday though.... someday...

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some good info and advice here - I am with them all the way on the issue of bread in gazpacho, for instance (gazpacho must contain bread or it isn't gazpacho). But I don't like the writing style, which is typical of mediocre, dated food writing, and most of the recipes don't interest me. I do use this cookbook.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love cookbooks - I love to read them, sample recipes from them, and use them for menu planning. This one just doesn't do it for me. It's a bit pretentious, and almost all the recipes use obscure ingredients. Bleh.

[Eliza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned from this book that every single recipe has some crazy ingredient you would have to buy at Dean and Deluca. A lot of the recipes look delicious but it's a little strict, so kind of more of the kind of thing you want to leaf through, but maybe not actually cook from.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great recipes. Yes there are soe with crazy ingrediants, but lots of things are simple and taste great. Love the pizza recipies.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, pretty good. Recipes range from simple to complex, but there is no section for desserts, which I consider to be something of a drawback.

[renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit pretentious for my liking, but there is a magnificent roquefort cheese sandwich that is delicious and perfect for a summer night picnic. so, for that, i give it three stars.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this as a Christmas present a few years ago, and I NEVER use it! I hate it when that happens...

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is well organized, grouped by ingredients and is a large tome full of delicious sounding recipes. No pictures included.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a UK collector of cookbooks this is one of the US must haves.